


get up now

by Blue_Rive



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Character Study, Frisk Character Study, Gen, Narrator Chara (Undertale), Nonbinary Chara (Undertale), Nonbinary Frisk (Undertale), Song Lyrics, also chara isn't evil, frisk is actually really smart they just can't do math, i hate you have to tag that and it's not the norm, rated t because frisk swears too much for a nine year old
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-17 02:43:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19944829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Rive/pseuds/Blue_Rive
Summary: I coulda gave up then butThen again I couldn't have 'causeI've traveled all this way for somethingEven if Toriel was perfect, Frisk wasn’t. They were too loud and messy and they cussed and took too much candy and they got angry enough to kill people, which still counted, even if they loaded it away. They’d ruin the Dreemurrs’ life.“I hafta think,” they told Chara.





	get up now

**Author's Note:**

> i have a lot of feelings and headcanons about frisk and nothing to do with them so i wrote this
> 
> people liked my song references in my good omens fic so i stuck my frisk theme song in here and you can't stop me (it's on top of the world by imagine dragons!)

_ And I know it's hard when you're falling down _

_ And it's a long way up when you hit the ground _

“I’ve got places to go,” Frisk said quickly, before they could think about it too much. 

“Ah.” Toriel paused. “I see.” She sighed. “Well, I hope I am not keeping you.” She turned away and began walking off, and Frisk felt like their heart might break- but then she turned back and gave them a small smile, and it was okay. “ ‘See you around’.”

When Toriel finished walking away, Chara said quietly, “They’re gone.” 

Frisk knew what Chara meant. The PLAYER. Chara had said something was controlling them, but Frisk found that hard to believe. It wasn’t like they were disassociating or something. They always leaped into decisions too fast, without thinking it over or planning anything. Sure, they didn’t know why they did a lot of what they did through the Underground, but they hardly knew what they were doing normally. And when they wandered from place to place, looking at everything, it just kinda felt like they were zoning out.

But the point was Chara said the force over them was gone now, and Chara was really smart, so they were probably right. Nervously, the ghost added, “You can make your own choices now. Toriel’s not too far away.” Like they wanted Frisk to change what they were doing. 

The thing was, even though the PLAYER was gone, Frisk didn’t want to go to Toriel. They were… scared. No adult they’d ever stayed with had been good, or nice, or anything. They’d ended up living alone, making their own way in the world. Which was the fancy word for ‘living on the streets and managing to feel like enough of a fucking failure to get to the point where they climbed Mt. Ebbot.’ If Toriel, their last real option, ended up not working out, Frisk might forget to think properly again, except putting enough thought to how to ‘disappear’ better. And she’d already burned them with her fire magic… 

Even if Toriel was perfect, Frisk wasn’t. They were too loud and messy and they cussed and took too much candy and they got angry enough to kill people, which still counted, even if they loaded it away. They’d ruin the Dreemurrs’ life. 

“I hafta think,” they told Chara. 

They cut through the fields into the city, running over the grass like they’d done a thousand times before. (And one memorable time when their face had been streaked with tears and they’d forgotten how to think or speak and their heart had been beating double-time.)

It was comforting, in a weird way. Living with Toriel was new and unfamiliar territory. They knew this hill like they knew the back of their hand. 

They slid on their muddy sneakers the last few feet. Getting their elbow over the top of the fence, they hopped it, leaving Chara to get pulled along behind them. They tumbled down and ran across the asphalt parking lot, a smile appearing on their face in spite of everything. They always had liked running. Maybe they should have joined the track team or something. 

A bus stop- they twirled around it, trying to mentally block Chara from saying anything and breaking the little happiness they had now.

“What are you going to do now?” Chara asked.  _ Damnit.  _

“I don’t know,” Frisk said. “I was just… I didn’t want to stay with Toriel.” They sighed and sat down on the seat next to the pole. “I don’t fucking know,” they said again. “I don’t know about anything.” 

Chara was silent, and Frisk knew they were thinking about their own problems. 

“I could help Papyrus be the ambassador,” they said to the air, “But he’s so smart anyway, and nice, and… “  _ And I’m some nine year old kid who can’t even figure out their own thoughts or say half the words Chara knows.  _

They could see the bus arriving, and they rifled through their pockets. Some gold pieces, a few candies- they tossed one in their mouth and grinned at Chara. “Licorice.”

Chara made a face. “You are never going to let me live that down, are you?”

Frisk smirked and continued looking through the contents of their pockets. A photo of them all Alphys had snapped with her Polaroid camera- they shoved that in, not wanting to think about the family they could have now. Oh, score- they still had their bus card in there. They brought it out, and stepped onto the bus. Chara watched curiously.

“What is that- what are you doing?”

“I’m taking the bus. It’s only been forty years, buses had to have been invented back in-” they counted on their fingers for a second, then gave up. “Back when you were alive.”

“This place was tiny forty years ago,” Chara said, “and I didn’t exactly… get out much.”

Frisk shrugged and flopped into a seat. They got some weird looks, but it wasn’t as if a nine-year old talking to themself was  _ that  _ weird. The few people on the bus probably assumed they were high or some shit. Sad world, really. 

“Where are we going?” Chara said, floating to look out a window. 

“D’you know me? I don’t plan for anything. We’re going to waste time and give me a chance to think, I guess. Libraries are nice, even though I can’t really read. They got computers.”

“So you’re going to play slither dot io until you’re kicked out.”   
  


“I guess. I could do some things for the monsters, but I’m not diplomatic or anything. I’m shit at, like, being nice, and I talk too much. I’d fuck it up.”

Chara was thinking about something. The bus rounded a corner, and Frisk peered out of the window to see if their stop was coming up. 

“You talked your way through the entire Underground and talked to… you know… to get him to break the barrier.”

Frisk looked at Chara in surprise. “What?”

“You have many flaws-” 

“Hey!”

“As I was saying, you have many flaws, but talking isn’t one of them. You’d be an amazing ambassador.” 

_ Get up now, get up, get up now _

Frisk smiled a bit, wobbly. “T-thanks.”

“So.” Chara said again. “What’re you going to do?” 

Frisk got out of the bus and ran up the library steps. “I’m going to Google how to get monsters out. I’ll start a blog, to talk about it, and I’ll make sure the government doesn’t cover it up- but also try to figure out how to intro- intri- tell people about the monsters properly.”

They grinned at Chara. “I’m gonna talk my way through this.” 

Chara smiled back, and not the fake smile they put on when they were lying or guilty or scared. 

“Knew you could do it.”

Frisk walked into the library and made a beeline for their favorite computer. After a moment of thought, they pulled the picture out of their pocket and set it beside the keyboard. 

They were going places, definitely. But they didn’t have to leave their friends for that. They sent a quick text to Toriel and powered up the computer. 

The monster ambassador cracked their knuckles and prepared to save a species. 

_ 'Cause I'm on top of the world, hey _

_ I'm on top of the world, hey _

_ Waiting on this for a while now _

_ Paying my dues to the dirt _

_ I've been waiting to smile, hey _

_ Been holding it in for a while, hey _

_ Take it with me if I can _

_ Been dreaming of this since a child _

_ I'm on top of the world _

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> leave comments please... they fuel me


End file.
